NAGPUR: Jitesh Sharma was with Mumbai Indians in 2017 but he did not get a match and was out of the set-up. In the next five years, he mastered the skill of generating immense power to send the ball out of park no matter who is bowling where. That helped him re-enter the IPL set-up in 2022, this time with Punjab Kings. Yet, the place in the playing XI eluded him as Jonny Bairstow was an obvious choice. But his power-hitting in the nets impressed Punjab’s then chief coach Anil Kumble and Jitesh earned his place in the playing XI.
Kumble’s pep talks before his IPL debut — “Jitesh, your wait is over now. You are going to get your chance” — changed the story for the wicketkeeper. From that day, Jitesh has not looked back.
On Thursday, Vidarbha’s best T20 batter — Jitesh (50 not out; 21b, 5x4, 3x6) — once again showed why Kumble believed in him. The right-hander arrived when just 33 balls were left and clobbered unbeaten 50 off 21 balls to lift his side to 180, a score Madhya Pradesh found too much to chase as they lost the battle by 22 runs in Rajkot.
The late lift given by Jitesh was well-complemented by trio of pacers — Umesh Yadav (3-29), Darshan Nalkande (3-23) and Yash Thakur (2-24) — to help Vidarbha maintain second position on the points table in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).
The wicketkeeper Jitesh, who is the only Vidarbha player with 10 T20 fifties, became the first Vidarbha batter to play 1000+ T20 deliveries during his knock that included 18 runs of the last over with two towering sixes and a four.
Jitesh punished the MP with a strike rate of 238. At 192, he currently has the second highest strike rate, just behind Prithvi Shaw. This consistency of maintaining the 150+ strike rate is helping Vidarbha in almost every match. Earlier, he had finished the IPL as the second-best strike rate holder for Punjab with 163 (criteria: playing more than 50 balls).
The 28-year-old’s six over covers and another one at long-off left MP clueless. He played some out-of-the-box shots on the backfoot off spinners — a shot he developed during his five-year grind. Such shot-making has made him an automatic choice for finisher’s role at No.5-6 even in the IPL. Before 2021, Jitesh used to open the innings.
Before the Punjab Kings finisher arrived at the crease, Vidarbha were 121 for 3 in 14.3 overs. Skipper Akshay Wadkar (44 off 43b), Atharva Taide (37 off 17b) and Apoorv Wankhade (35 off 23b) were the other contributors. Wadkar and Taide added 55 for the opening wicket. Later, skipper and Wankhade stitched 57 runs for the second wicket.
BRIEF SCORES: Vidarbha 180 for 5 in 20 overs (Jitesh Sharma 50 n.o, Akshay Wadkar 44, Apoorv Wankhade 35, Atharva Taide 30; Ankit Kushwah 3-28) beat MP 158 all out in 19.1 overs (ADas 36, R Patidar 35; Umesh Yadav 3-29, Darshan Nalkande 3-23, Yash Thakur 2-24) by 22 runs.